KDF Officers Rescue Ministry of Public Works Principal Secretary Hours after being Abducted by Al Shabaab Militants

Ministry of Public Works Principal Secretary Miriam El Maawy was among six people abducted on Thursday afternoon by suspected Al Shabaab militants in Lamu. He was later rescued by Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).

Confirming the rescue, a senior government official told Capital Fm that the PS had been rescued from the hands of the Militants,but has gunshot wounds on the shoulder and leg.

The officer however, was not in a position to give information on the whereabouts of five other people who were hijacked alongside El Maawy.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that three of the five were killed by the militants, after realizing they were being pursued.

The six were kidnapped by the militants after they commandeered a Toyota Prado vehicle and two more cars they were travelling on at Milihoi area on the Lamu-Mpeketoni highway.

Maawy was coming from a meeting with Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) stakeholders in Lamu and was headed to Witu to visit families fled their homes after increased Al Shabaab attacks in the area.

Witnesses said that over 30 militants drove the PS's vehicle into the Boni Forest. The hijacking took place on Thursday at around 3pm.

The PS was taken to nearby Mpeketoni Hospital for treatment